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Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed and written by Christopher Nolan, and produced by Suzanne and Jennifer Todd. The film's script was based on a pitch by Jonathan Nolan, who later wrote the story "Memento Mori" from the concept. It stars Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano.
Pearce stars as a man who, as a result of a past trauma, suffers from anterograde amnesia, the inability to form new memories and suffers short-term memory loss approximately every five minutes. He is searching for the persons who attacked him and killed his wife, using an intricate system of Polaroid photographs and tattoos to track information he cannot remember. Memento is presented as two different sequences of scenes interspersed during the film: a series in black-and-white that is shown chronologically, and a series of color sequences shown in reverse order (simulating for the audience the mental state of the protagonist). The two sequences "meet" at the end of the film, producing one complete and cohesive narrative.[4]
Memento premiered on September 5, 2000, at the Venice International Film Festival and was released in European theaters starting in October. It became a blockbuster success, being acclaimed by critics who praised its nonlinear narrative structure and motifs of memory, perception, grief, and self-deception, and earning $39.7 million over a $9 million budget. It received numerous accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.[5] The film was subsequently ranked one of the best films of its decade by several critics and media outlets.
The film starts with the Polaroid photograph of a dead man. As the sequence plays backwards the photo reverts to its undeveloped state, entering the camera before the man is shot in the head.
A series of black and white sequences begin with Leonard Shelby, an insurance investigator, in a motel room speaking to an unseen and unknown caller. Leonard has anterograde amnesia and is unable to store recent memories, the result of an attack by two men. Leonard explains that he killed the attacker who raped and strangled his wife, but a second clubbed him and escaped. The police did not accept that there was a second attacker, but Leonard believes the attacker's name is John or James, with a last name starting with G. Leonard conducts his own investigation using a system of notes, Polaroids, and tattoos. From his occupation, Leonard recalls a fellow anterograde amnesiac: Sammy Jankis. Sammy's diabetic wife, who wasn't sure if his condition was genuine, repeatedly requested insulin; she hoped that he would remember having given her an injection and stop himself from giving another before she died of an overdose. However, Sammy continues to administer the injections, and his wife falls into a fatal coma.
Afterwards, color sequences are shown reverse-chronologically. In the story's chronology, Leonard self-directively gets a tattoo of John G's license plate. Finding a note in his clothes, he meets Natalie, a bartender who resents Leonard as he wears the clothes and drives the car of her boyfriend, Jimmy Grantz. After understanding his condition, she uses it to get Leonard to drive a man named Dodd out of town and offers to run the license plate as a favor. Meanwhile, Leonard meets with a contact, Teddy, who helps with Dodd, but warns about Natalie. However, a photograph instigates Leonard not to trust him. Natalie provides Leonard the driver's license for a John Edward Gammell, Teddy's full name. Confirming Leonard's information on "John G" and his warnings, Leonard drives Teddy to an abandoned building, leading to the opening.
In the final black-and-white sequence, prompted by the caller, Leonard meets with Teddy, an undercover officer, who has found Leonard's "John G," Jimmy, and directs Leonard to the abandoned building. When Jimmy arrives, Leonard strangles him and takes a photo of the body. As it develops, the black-and-white transitions to the final color sequences. Leonard swaps clothes with Jimmy, hearing him whisper "Sammy." As Leonard has only told Sammy's story to those met, he doubts Jimmy's role. Teddy arrives and asserts that Jimmy was John G, but when Leonard is undeterred, Teddy reveals that he helped him kill the real attacker a year ago, and he has been using Leonard ever since. Teddy points out that since "John G" is common, he will cyclically forget and begin again and that even Teddy himself has a "John G" name. Further, Teddy claims that Sammy's story is Leonard's himself, repressing the memory to escape guilt.
After hearing Teddy's exposition, Leonard consciously burns Jimmy's photograph, writes a message to himself on Teddy's photograph to not trust Teddy, and drives off in Jimmy's car. He has Teddy's license plate number tattooed as the second attacker, leading to his eventual death.
| Memento | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Christopher Nolan |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | Christopher Nolan |
| Based on | "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan |
| Starring | |
| Music by | David Julyan |
| Cinematography | Wally Pfister |
| Edited by | Dody Dorn |
Production
companies | |
| Distributed by | Newmarket |
Release date
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Running time
| 113 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States[2] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9 million[3] |
| Box office | $39.7 million[3] |
